Frederick D. Gregory Signed NASA Official Portrait — First African American to Command a Space Shuttle, Inscribed 1995

He flew combat in Vietnam. He tested aircraft for the Air Force. Then Frederick D. Gregory strapped into the flight deck of a Space Shuttle and changed the record books. In 1985, Gregory piloted STS 51-B — the Challenger Spacelab 3 mission — becoming the first African American to pilot the orbiter. He came back twice more as commander, first on STS-33 in 1989 and again on STS-44 in 1991. Three missions. Three times he rode a column of fire off the planet. After his flight career he rose to NASA Deputy Administrator, the second-highest post in the agency, overseeing programs that now form the architecture of American human spaceflight.

This is the official NASA Johnson Space Center astronaut portrait — a color photograph printed to lithograph stock, Gregory in his powder-blue flight suit before the American flag, his name badge reading FRED GREGORY / COL. / USAF, the STS 51-B Spacelab 3 mission patch at his chest. He signed it himself in silver ink, "To Lara Yates, Best Wishes, Fred Gregory, 8 Feb 95" — a personal inscription placed on the photograph in February 1995, a decade into his NASA career. The verso carries the official NASA JSC release statement under the worm-logo letterhead, control number JSCIL-333. This is not a facsimile signature. It is not a printed dedication. Gregory put pen to photograph for a specific person on a specific day, and that record has stayed intact.

Frederick Drew Gregory (b. 1941, Washington, D.C.) came to NASA in 1978 as part of the same astronaut class as Guion Bluford and Sally Ride — a cohort that rewrote who could go to space. His selection followed a distinguished USAF career as a combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam and a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, where he logged time on more than 50 aircraft types. His 1985 STS 51-B flight made him the first African American to serve as a shuttle pilot; his 1989 STS-33 command made him the first to command a shuttle mission. In an era when representation in the cockpit mattered enormously — when kids were watching NASA the way they now watch sports — Gregory was one of the names on the poster. He went on to serve as NASA Associate Administrator for Safety and Mission Assurance and ultimately as Acting Administrator, shepherding the agency through the post-Columbia period.

• Personally signed and inscribed by Frederick D. Gregory, 8 February 1995
• Dedicated to Lara Yates
• A Certificate of Authenticity will be issued by Mesilla Valley Estate Sales

CONDITION

Very Good. The sheet is clean and bright, the silver-ink inscription bold and fully legible across all four lines. Minor handling wear consistent with storage as an unframed lithograph; no tears, no significant creasing, no fading to the inscription.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• 10" × 8"
• Format: Official NASA color lithograph portrait, single sheet
• Inscription: "To Lara Yates, Best Wishes, Fred Gregory, 8 Feb 95" — silver ink, signed in hand
• Mission patch shown: STS 51-B Spacelab 3
• Verso marking: JSCIL-333, NASA JSC release statement, worm-logo letterhead
• Certificate of Authenticity: Issued by Mesilla Valley Estate Sales